Abu Toameh: Palestinian Infighting Makes Peace Unlikely

The rivalry between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah in the West Bank is a major hurdle to any peace deal with Israel, writes Jerusalem Post reporter Khaled Abu Toameh, a former correspondent for the PLO newspaper Al Fajr.

"The fight between Hamas and Fatah is not a power struggle between good guys and bad guys: it is a rivalry between bad guys and bad guys," writes Abu Toameh in a column for the Hudson Institute. It is driven by a thirst for money and power.

Since January 2006, when Hamas won the parliamentary elections, Fatah has worked to undermine Hamas' power, leading to a civil war between the two factions that has been both violent and driven by propaganda.

During the Gaza-Israel war from December 2008-January 2009, Fatah officials gave Israel "valuable intelligence that resulted in the killing of many Hamas operatives." Fatah has also imprisoned hundreds of Hamas members and supporters, shut down Hamas-affiliated institutions in the West Bank and fired civil servants believed to be Hamas supporters. Likewise, Hamas has imprisoned and executed leading Fatah officials, particularly those that are seen as collaborators with Israel.

"This dirty civil war has thus far claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 Palestinians, most of them innocent civilians, while thousands of others have been injured," Abu Toameh writes, and "the only way to make progress towards peace is by insisting that the Palestinians first get their act together."

However, he urges the U.S. and the international community to stay out of the fight. "Outside meddling in Palestinian affairs will only exacerbate the crisis."

The depth and brutality of the Hamas-Fatah conflict receives little attention in the mainstream media, yet, as an Arab-Israeli journalist on the ground highlights, the future relationship between the two factions could determine the fate of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

White House Delivers Blow to al Shabaab Finances

The White House has outlined a plan that could serve as a significant blow to the vast financial infrastructure of militant groups in Somalia. Announced Tuesday in a message to Congress, the plan targets armed fighters causing unrest in portions of the largely lawless nation.

Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the National Emergency Act, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1844, the Executive Order froze the assets of people and organizations involved in acts of terrorism in Somalia. Specifically, the White House was concerned with:

"those who threaten peace and stability in Somalia, who inhibit the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia or the distribution of such assistance in Somalia, or who supply arms or related material in violation of the arms embargo."

Although not identifying any particular terrorist group, this action is clearly aimed at disrupting and dismantling the terrorist organization al Shabaab.

Since its designation in 2008, al Shabaab has remained a threat to both the peace and stability of Somalia. Most recently, on April 3, al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mahmoud Raghe vowed to take control of the entire nation, including its capital Mogadishu. According to his statement:

"we are aware the enemy is training soldiers for the puppet government but we are telling them that our fighters will capture the country before they arrive."

It has also posed a consistent threat beyond Somalia's borders. Of particular concern, at least to the White House, is al Shabaab's connection to the United States. The organization has not only recruited Americans to fight alongside them in Somalia, but it is now believed that as many as 270 Somalis, some of them al Shabaab militants, may have entered the United States illegally.

Once entrenched with the terror group, American recruits have assisted in a vast array of al Shabaab activities, including the denial of humanitarian aid to the local populations. On March 1, al Shabaab ordered the United Nations' Food Agency, the World Food Programme, to leave Somalia. The agency had already suspended work in southern Somalia in January in response to rising attacks from the terrorist organization. On April 8, al Shabaab militants took over the compound.

Finally, al Shabaab has been a consistent recipient of weapons and other munitions in violation of international arms embargos. In a recent threat assessment, African Union peacekeepers warned that al Shabaab has plans to attack Mogadishu, Somalia's seaport, with vessels packed full of explosives.

Lieberman Blasts Administration's Soft Language on Terrorism

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman is calling out the Obama administration for its decision to shun the phrases "Islamic extremism" and "jihadist" in references to terrorism.

Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, wrote to White House Homeland Security Adviser John Brennan Friday calling the omission dishonest and counterproductive:

"The failure to identify your enemy for what it is – violent Islamist extremism – is offensive and contradicts thousands of years of accepted military and intelligence doctrine to 'know your enemy.' Knowing your enemy is the essence of the craft of intelligence as taught by the father of U.S. intelligence analysis, Sherman Kent, and exemplified by you during your decades of distinguished service in the U.S. Intelligence Community. Accurately identifying our enemies is critical to understanding their motivations, capabilities, and tactics – and to countering them effectively and defeating them decisively."

Lieberman reiterated his point during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, when he said the policy, aimed at cultivating relations with Muslims around the world, could backfire:

"We're not in a war against Islam. It's a group of Islamist extremists who have taken the Muslim religion and made it into a political ideology, and I think if we're not clear about that, we disrespect the overwhelming majority of Muslims who are not extremists."

The decision to avoid references to religious motivation among Islamist terrorist groups extends a policy initiated during the Bush administration. We wondered at the time where such a policy has succeeded. It remains an open question.

In his letter, Lieberman noted his support for expanding America efforts to build better relations with Muslim nations through economic and political outreach. As the Washington Times noted in a weekend editorial, however, "the National Security Strategy is not some kind of outreach initiative, it is the framing document for America's global safety. The United States cannot effectively combat the root causes of Islamic extremism by ignoring them."

Read Lieberman's letter here.

Report: Zazi Plot Targeted Grand Central and Times Square Trains

A fourth man believed to be involved in a conspiracy to bomb New York subways last fall has been arrested in Pakistan and faces extradition to the United States, the New York Daily News reports.

The newspaper's account cites unidentified and undefined sources. It indicates the plan hatched by Najibullah Zazi was to simultaneously attack some of the city's most congested subway lines during rush hour last September. Zazi is cooperating with federal investigators after pleading guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and to providing material support to al Qaeda. According to the Daily News:

"Zazi and his two Queens friends allegedly planned to strap explosives to their bodies and split up, heading for the Grand Central and Times Square stations - the two busiest subway stations in New York City.

They would board trains on the 1, 2, 3 and 6 lines at rush hour and planned to position themselves in the middle of the packed trains to ensure the maximum carnage when they blew themselves up, sources said."

Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay have been charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

The plot traces back to a 2008 trip the men made to Pakistan to join the fight against American troops in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda operatives instead pulled the men aside for explosives training and reportedly sent them back to the U.S. Zazi was "given special bomb-making training because of his knowledge of the subway system."

The plot unraveled when U.S. intelligence learned of the plot from a Pakistani informant. Zazi was placed under surveillance and ditched his explosives after a traffic stop in New York. By then, the Daily News reports, he already had scouted subway routes repeatedly to determine "where to best spread death and mayhem."

Read the full Daily News report here.

Exclusive! Terror-Defending Publisher's Inside Track

A government agency sponsors a community outreach program, but limits media access solely to representatives of the community involved. In doing so, the most powerful press representative present was a publisher who has repeatedly endorsed two groups the United States has designated as terrorists.

That's what happened last October when the Commerce Department co-sponsored a "Muslim-American Business Outreach Meeting" with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Dearborn, Michigan.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) revealed that 75 people attended the invitation-only event. Most were touted as local Muslim and Arab-American business and community leaders. Invitations indicate the event was "At the request of the National Security Council at the White House" as a follow-up to President Obama's Cairo speech last June. Part of his remarks pledged to work at forging new business partnerships domestically and in the Middle East with the Muslim community."

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke attended, along with Dearborn Mayor John B. (Jack) O'Reilly, Jr. But media access was limited to local Arab and Muslim press, the FOIA records show.

That included Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News in Dearborn. Siblani has a history of endorsing Hamas and Hizballah, including an August 2006 rally in Lafayette Park across from the White House. During his speech, Siblani referred to then-President George W. Bush as a terrorist for supporting Israel in its summer of 2006 conflict against Hizballah in southern Lebanon. He then exhorted the crowd with the question "Who is the freedom fighter?" to which the crowd repeatedly responded, "Hizballah!"

Lest that be considered a statement in the heat of the moment, Siblani voiced his support for Hizballah and Hamas during several media interviews, including with NPR and CBN.

It's not clear that the event would have generated much media attention had it been open to all outlets. And Siblani has a right to his opinion, of course. But it's less clear why organizers felt he deserved near exclusive access to agency leadership when some of those views are directly in conflict with the government when it comes to terrorist groups working against American interests.

Palestinians Rename Main Boulevard after Hamas Terrorist

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is dismissing criticism of its decision to name a Ramallah street after notorious Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayyash as "absurd."

In an earlier statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the move:

"This is an outrageous glorification of terrorism by the Palestinian Authority. Right next to a Presidential compound in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority has named a street after a terrorist who murdered hundreds of innocent Israeli men, women and children. The world must forcefully condemn this official Palestinian incitement for terrorism and against peace."

Ayyash, known as "The Engineer," was a Hamas arch terrorist and chief bomb maker. He orchestrated the suicide bombing campaign that killed dozens of Israeli civilians from 1994-1996. The PA and Hamas have waged a brutal and bloody power struggle for nearly four years, but that did not stop the PA from glorifying a Hamas icon.

The PA response to Netanyahu compared the street naming to places in Israel named after the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for the historic Camp David peace treaty.

The move would be akin to an American town naming a main thoroughfare after Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. There was outrage when Jewish settlers erected a monument to Baruch Goldstein, who was killed after slaughtering 29 Muslims in a mosque in 1994. Israel razed the shrine in 1999 after legislation banned monuments to terrorists.

The Ayyash naming marks the second time in recent months that the PA glorified a terrorist. In January, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas defended the naming of a square after Dalal Mughrabi, a young terrorist who hijacked a bus and killed 37 in 1978. Abbas' minister of culture, Siham Barghouti of the Fatah party, also defended the move, stating: "Honoring them [the martyrs] this way is the least we can give them, and this is our right."

Palestinian Media Watch Director Itamar Marcus described the effect of such provocation with little US reaction, saying:

"When Hamas is condemned for the terror glorification while it is Abbas and the PA who are guilty, the message to the Palestinian leadership is that they can continue with their incitement to hatred and violence, and no one will call them to account. This message to the Palestinian Authority from the United States, if not immediately rectified, will have devastating implications for peace."

Guilty Plea for Man Accused of Funneling Money to Iraq

A former board member of the now defunct Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) has pled guilty to illegally transferring funds to Iraq in violation of existing sanctions.

Ali Mohamed Bagegni, a native of Libya, was associated with IARA beginning in 1991. While with IARA, Bagegni served as a member of the board of directors as its secretary. He continued in that role until October 14, 2004, when the U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets of IARA.

According to an indictment filed on January 16, 2008, Bagegni and IARI illegally solicited and transferred funds from the United States to Iraq. The law that the organization was alleged to have broken, the Iraq Sanctions Regulations, was issued by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and prohibited unauthorized transfer of money or goods to Iraq by Americans.

With Bagegni's guilty plea, the Justice Department lands another victory in cutting off the flow of funds to insurgent groups in Iraq. Under federal statutes, he can be sentenced for up to five years in prison, plus face a fine of up to $250,000.

White House: U.S. Citizenship Not A Barrier to Capture or Kill Order

U.S. forces were given the green light Tuesday to target U.S.-born radical Islamist preacher and supposed al Qaeda "regional commander," Anwar al-Awlaki, according to the Reuters news agency. As the report enumerates, the Obama administration has officially weighed in on what has long been a lingering question surrounding the targeting of those engaged in terrorism: whether American citizens are acceptable targets. With this most recent decision:

"the Obama administration has authorized operations to capture or kill [Awlaki following]… a National Security Council review prompted by his status as a U.S. citizen."

If U.S. forces are to engage Awlaki – especially with drones – they must be vigilant in confirming that he is indeed the target they are eyeing in their crosshairs. In December, early reports indicated that the American-born cleric with significant ties to the Fort Hood Attacks, Christmas Day bomb plot, and perhaps even the "Jihad Jane" case, was killed in an air strike by Yemeni forces. These claims, quickly disputed by Awlaki's relatives, have now largely been discredited and Awlaki is presumed to be alive.

At this point, it is unclear what impact, if any, this executive pronouncement will have for other individual cases of Americans engaged in terrorism abroad. What does seem likely, though, is that today's news, coupled with the recent legal justification for drone attacks against terrorists issued by the Obama administration, will open the door for unmanned aerial strikes against Awlaki, who is thought to be in hiding in Yemen.

More on the story can be found here, here and here.

Correspondent's Course: CAIR-CAN to Cairo

A former spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) - Canada may have broadened her readership, but has managed to continue propagating the same line, according to The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report.

Hadeel Al-Shalchi, identified as CAIR-CAN's "Communications Spokesperson" through at least 2004, is currently working as a Cairo-based correspondent for the Associated Press (AP). In that capacity, Shalchi has provided much of the U.S.-based media commentary regarding the recent shake-up at the popular Islamic web portal, IslamOnline – a platform she has used to promote the common Islamist narrative that Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, is a "relative moderate."

As the Investigative Project on Terrorism has previously reported, any connection between Qaradawi and so-called claims of "moderation" is blatantly misleading. Demonstrative of this charge is a 2003 fatwa by Qaradawi, in which the Sheikh declared:

"those killed fighting the American forces [in Iraq] are martyrs given their good intentions since they consider these invading troops an enemy within their territories but without their will."

This is but one example among many in which Qaradawi has advocated for the use of violence, has waged vile tirades against Jews, or has promoted the cause of known jihadists. Even in the highly politically charged atmosphere that is the norm in the Muslim world, Qaradawi's rhetoric is counter to the conduct of a true moderate – relative or not.

Shalchi's recent reporting suggests that while her affiliation has changed, it is still just business as usual for her – she continues to toe the line that she learned in her time with CAIR-CAN and fellow Muslim Brotherhood kin, the Muslim Students' Association (MSA). Over the years – including during Shalchi's tenure with the group's Canadian affiliate – CAIR has repeatedly defended Qaradawi and attempted to rebrand him as moderate scholar.

Amnesty International Boss Endorses "Jihad in self-defence"

Amnesty International (AI) Secretary-General Claudio Cordone has come under fire for defending jihad when it occurs in "self-defence" – a position many other human rights advocates believe "would gravely undermine the future of the human rights movement."

Cordone's comments came in response to a February 13 "Global Petition" to AI by human-rights and women's -rights advocates protesting the suspension of Gita Sahgal, a senior AI official in London.

Sahgal was suspended after the Sunday Times of London reported she believed Amnesty's collaboration with former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzem Begg "fundamentally damages" the group's reputation.

In a letter sent to senior AI officials, Sahgal charged that Amnesty has mistakenly aligned itself with Begg and his organization Cageprisoners, which calls itself a human-rights organization working to "raise awareness of the plight of prisoners" held in the war on terror.

According to the Sunday Times, the prisoners it championed have included "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and Abu Qatada, a preacher described as Osama Bin Laden's 'European ambassador.' "

Begg and Cageprisoners are also reported to have developed a relationship with Anwar al-Awlaki, the Al Qaeda cleric who endorsed the failed Christmas Day plane bombing near Detroit and who became a confidant of Nidal Malik Hasan, charged with carrying out the Nov. 5 Fort Hood massacre. Read more here.

In the "Global Petition" sent to AI, the coalition of liberal human-rights advocates criticized what they called "U.S./NATO imperialism." But the bulk of the letter consisted of criticism of Sahgal's suspension and warnings about the pitfalls of negotiating with the Taliban and trying to advance human rights by working with "anti-democratic" groups.

On February 28, Cordone responded with a letter defending AI's work with Begg and Cageprisoners. Begg "speaks powerfully from personal experience" about the abuses at the U.S.-operated Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, Cordone wrote, and advocates detainees' due process rights within "the same framework of universal human rights standards that we are promoting."

Cordone added that Begg and Cageprisoners' advocacy of "jihad in self defence" is not antithetical to human rights and that Begg is the victim of "many distortions, innuendoes and 'guilt by association' " charges.

In response, the initiators of the Global Petition expressed dismay about Amnesty's endorsement of a "defensive" jihad. They noted that such a call "is a thread running through many fundamentalist and specifically 'salafi-jihadi' texts. It is mentioned by Abdullah Azzam, mentor of Osama bin Laden, and founder of Lashkar e Tayyaba. It is the argument of 'defensive jihad' that the Taleban uses to legitimize its anti human rights actions such as the beheading of dissidents, including members of minority communities, and the public lashing of women."

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